Live: TikTok CEO testifies before Senate on child-safety rules
Follow along for updates from the hearing as they happen.
TikTok CEO is testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee this morning on the platform's child-safety practices. This page will update throughout the hearing.
The hearing is expected to cover four specific topics: the platform's age-verification systems, its handling of content that promotes self-harm or eating disorders to minors, its Live-streaming gift-purchase flow and whether the flow is age-gated appropriately, and the company's responses to internal research on teen mental-health effects that was made public in a 2023 whistleblower disclosure.
Senate Judiciary Chair Richard Blumenthal's opening statement framed the session as "overdue" and pointed to six high-profile cases in the committee's jurisdiction where parents have alleged that TikTok-specific mechanics contributed to a minor's suicide or severe mental-health crisis. Ranking Member Lindsey Graham's opening statement echoed Blumenthal's framing.
Expected witnesses alongside TikTok's CEO: the US Surgeon General, the head of the FTC's Consumer Protection Bureau, and a panel of child-safety researchers whose work has been cited repeatedly in pending state-level platform-liability bills.
This story is being updated live. Refresh the page for the latest.
Corrections
An earlier version of this story misstated the committee. It is the Senate Judiciary Committee, not the Senate Commerce Committee.
Platform Policy Reporter
Alex covers platform policy, regulation, and moderation. They hold a law degree and have written about Section 230, the EU's Digital Services Act, and algorithmic transparency.
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